A syllabus for course says it examines the history of Palestine "through the lens of settler colonialism"

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The suspension came on the same day 43 Jewish, civil rights and education advocacy groups sent a letter to Chancellor Nicholas Dirks office raising concerns about the course.

The University of California at Berkeley has suspended a course amid accusations it shared anti-Semitic viewpoints and was designed to indoctrinate students against Israel.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports Berkeley suspended "Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis" on Tuesday. The newspaper reports a syllabus for the one-credit course taught by an undergraduate student says it examines the history of Palestine "through the lens of settler colonialism."

"The course has been suspended pending completion of the mandated review and approval process," according to a campus statement that expressed concern about a course that "espoused a single political viewpoint and appeared to offer a forum for political organizing."

The suspension came on the same day 43 Jewish, civil rights and education advocacy groups sent a letter to Chancellor Nicholas Dirks office raising concerns about the course.

The ethnic studies department, which sponsored the course, however, did give the proposal to the Academic Senate's Committee on Courses and Instruction. The committee evaluated and approved it, said Bob Powell, the Academic Senate chairman, who was not involved in evaluating the course.

"It met the standards. It looked like a legitimate course," he said, adding that the committee understands it is bound by the regents' policy on course content. "Is there a box where you check it off? I don't think so. But everyone involved in course approval is aware of regents policies — including this one."

The student teacher did not respond to requests for comment from the Chronicle.

His faculty adviser, Hatem Bazian, a lecturer in the ethnic studies department and founder of the group Students for Justice in Palestine, which urges campuses across the country to boycott and divest from Israel, was also not available for comment.